www.peoplesdailyng.com
Vol. 10 No. 64
Thursday, March 28, 2013
. . . putting the people first
Jimadal Ula 17, 1434 AH
N150
EFCC freezes foreign Police admit killing Court stops Senate account of fuel civil defence from arresting Maina subsidy fraudsters operatives in Lagos >> PAGE 5
>> PAGE 2
>> PAGE 7
Senate wants death penalty for oil thieves By Okechukwu Okoforadi
S
enate President, David Mark, has said the National Assembly was considering death sentence for those who illegally siphon Nigeria's crude oil abroad, as a measure to save the country from economic sabotage and the global
embarrassment of notoriety in oil theft. Mark disclosed this yesterday while inaugurating four Senate committees to hold a joint public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). He bemoaned the increasing cases of oil theft in the country. According to him, unusual
situations and problems deserves unusual solutions, reassuring that the Senate will go any length to bring the vice to an end. He warned that few Nigerians cannot be allowed to paint the country bad: the death penalty may be the only prescription that could discourage the scourge of oil stealing which brings about
economic sabotage to the country. According to Mark, those behind the illegal draining of Nigeria's oil abroad are powerful people insisting that Nigeria must take a drastic step to impose its superiority on those powerful Nigerians. He noted that the PIB should not be seen as an entirely new but
an effort to amend the existing oil Bill to comply with the international standards. He dispelled fears that the intention of the Bill is to make a draconian law that will witchhunt investors in the oil industry, explaining that the aim is to make the Bill create a win-win Contd on Page 2
2015: Jonathan undecided - Tukur By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja and Umar Dankano, Yola
P
eoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has urged Nigerians to ignore reports that President Goodluck Jonathan plans to contest the 2015 presidential election. "Nigerians should be patient over the issue of who will be the PDP presidential flagbearer in 2015 because you have to get to the bridge before you attempt to cross the river," Tukur told reporters yesterday at his MayoKalare country home in Jada Local Government area of Adamawa state. Tukur's declaration runs contrary to the recent announcement made by the PDP Woman's Leader, Amb. Kema Chikwe, that the President would run for the Presidency in 2015. Chikwe had during the launching of an almanac on PDP women in power, stated that Jonathan would return as the President on the platform of the party in 2015. While commenting on the need to ensure enhanced women participation in politics, Chikwe had said: "We are even more confident that when Contd on Page 2
L-R: Group Managing Director, NNPC, Engineer Andrew Yakubu, Vice-President Gas, Shell, Mr. Ruud De Jongh, and Director Gas, TOTAL, Mr. Ronnie Aker, during the signing of the $310m Additional Programme Debt of the Bonny Gas Transport Limited, on Tuesday in London.